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Oregon Road Conditions & Cams Email Story to a Friend September 20, 2005 Willow Wind faces scrutiny Ashland superintendent says the homeschool center will comply with state testing standards By JONEL ALECCIA Mail Tribune Ashland’s Willow Wind Community Learning Center is taking steps to comply with state law, even as Oregon education officials are demanding an audit of public money that school districts receive to pay for services to homeschooled students. "We don’t want to do anything that’s incorrect," Ashland Schools Superintendent Juli Di Chiro said Monday. About 250 homeschooled students enrolled in the Willow Wind program will receive state identification numbers and some will be required to take state assessment tests next spring. Up to now, the district has received about $625,000 a year in state funds for its homeschooled students without providing legally required tests or documentation. Di Chiro said the discrepancy was a misunderstanding about the interpretation of laws governing homeschooled students. Advertisement District officials previously had been informed that parents were responsible for testing, and that students were, in fact, prohibited from taking state tests, she said. "I proactively called them," said Di Chiro, who became concerned about the issue last winter. "I thought I needed to make sure we were OK." However, the program appeared to be out of compliance, said Cliff Brush, a state education department official. "The bargain between the state school fund and the districts is that we provide the funding and in return, we get performance data," he said. Willow Wind appears to be part of a problem that sparked a state crackdown on alternative programs that have received public funding without corresponding accountability, said Gene Evans, an Oregon Department of Education spokesman. "There’s a lot of very loose activity out there that we should take a look at," said Evans. The ODE has asked the Secretary of State’s Office to conduct an audit of all alternative programs in the state. In particular, the study will focus on districts asking to be reimbursed for students who are not formally enrolled, or who reside outside district boundaries. In Southern Oregon, more than 2,300 homeschooled students were registered with the state in 2004, figures showed. Typically, alternative programs offer a range of courses tailored to home-schoolers, from music and computer science to mathematics. Oregon districts receive about $5,000 per full-time equivalent student. Di Chiro said Ashland uses that money to pay for services to students and for the mortgage on the property at 1497 E. Main St., Ashland. Some alternative schools abruptly terminated contracts after being reminded that state school funds can be claimed only for resident students, and that districts must report performance results, Evans said. But Willow Wind and another local program that provides services to home-schooled students should have no problem complying with the law, officials said. Students enrolled in classes subject to state assessments will take those assessments, officials said. "We’ve already had family meetings," said Debra Schaeffer-Pew, director of Willow Wind. "When we published our catalog, we put it out there very clearly which classes would require testing. They seem very willing to participate. I don’t think that we have run into any resistance." That message was echoed at the READ Institute, a private Central Point tutoring agency that maintains contracts with Central Point, Medford and Phoenix-Talent districts. Students participated in assessments last year at the request of Central Point officials, said Rose Cossairt, director. "I don’t think it’s going to be a problem," she said. Reach reporter JoNel Aleccia at 776-4465, or e-mail Willow Wind faces scrutiny ">[email protected] . Mail Tribune Home | Local News | Sports | Business | Obituaries | Life | Opinion AP News | Archives | Site Map | Community | Classified Copyright © 1997-2005 Mail Tribune, Inc. All rights reserved. Privacy Policy | Terms & Conditions | Website Feedback www.bingo.com Home Security Systems Trunks, Footlocker dvd-r Distance Education Computer Security Ztech Media Hosting Sports Equipment Online Casino Reviews Student Loans tcg student loan consolidation Online Pharmacy online casino Myspace Home Equity Loans Windermere Van Vleet Rogue Valley Travel Reservationstogo Hotel Reservations Southern Oregon Loans Online Casino News Natto Kinase Nattokinase Casino Gambling Sites Budget Website Templates Investments & Loans Advertisement s